


The Grind

by WriteReal



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: AU, Angst, Drabble, F/M, married, season 6
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-24
Updated: 2018-04-24
Packaged: 2019-04-27 02:24:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14415615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WriteReal/pseuds/WriteReal
Summary: It's getting old just getting the job done and nothing more. In fact, it's a real grind.





	The Grind

**Author's Note:**

> A drabble on what happens between those big moments.
> 
> This happens after James is dead and the newbies are out. It goes AU with them stopping Diaz and Dig not going rogue.
> 
> I don't own these characters. No beta so all mistakes are mine.

Oliver slotted his bow into its stand and unzipped his leather jacket. Dig and Felicity wouldn’t be back for a few minutes. They were stopping at Big Bellly Burger. He had told them not to order him anything, earning him a worried glance from both. He’d given Felicity a quick kiss to try and reassure her, and closed the van door. 

He’d replayed the night’s events as he rode back to the bunker. They hadn’t made any mistakes, they had simply been outnumbered. Diaz’s various captains were vying for control of the drug trade in Star City, and as soon as they shut down one, another one popped up. They were insanely well-armed and trained. With just him and Diggle on the ground and Felicity on the tech side they were literally outgunned. As good as he was with a bow he was more than a little tempted to replace it with a semi-automatic. Even at that, they were usually going up against automatic gunfire, their advantage being that Dig was an excellent shot even under extreme pressure.

He walked toward the back of the bunker, stripping as he headed for the shower. His body ached from the impacts of hitting the ground and the catwalk and rolling out of bullet range. He thought again about handing the hood back to John but they had already come to the conclusion that it would put them at a greater disadvantage. John was a much better and faster shot. They needed his skills where they were.

He stepped under the shower and absently scrubbed the dried sweat off his skin. None of them had brought up the idea of finding new team members. The betrayal of Rene, Diana, and especially Curtis still stung. They had trusted them, relied on them, cared about them. Yes, there had been a division between OTA and the other three. How could there not be? Four years of working hand-in-hand couldn’t be replaced. It had taken Oliver ean specially long time to truly trust them, particularly Rene who was a wild card as well as Wild Dog. Oliver’s instincts had been right in the end. Rene had been the weak link in their team. He briefly wondered if they had not included Rene in the team if the other two would still be with them.

He pushed the thought away. There was no point thinking about it. What was done was done and they had to move forward. He sighed. Triple duty as mayor, the Arrow, and father/husband left him exhausted. Most days it was a good exhaustion, a tiredness brought on by having full days full of purpose. He wouldn’t trade having William and Felicity, or his city, for anything. Usually it felt like a privilege. Today it felt like a burden.

He turned off the shower and grabbed a towel to dry off. He could hear Dig and Felicity moving around and talking, their usual banter dropped to quiet review of the night. None of them felt good about tonight. He pulled on fresh clothes and jogged upstairs. It was time to put on his game face and stop all of them from wallowing.

He walked in to both of them sitting in their respective chairs ignoring their burgers and fries. Another set sat still wrapped for him and he ignored it as he sat back in a chair between them. Dig sighed.

“This is getting old.”

“Is it ever,” Felicity said bitterly. “We should just start carrying bazookas and flame throwers to even the playing field.” Both men looked at her in surprise. Suffice it to say, Felicity was rarely a proponent of more violence. “What?” she snapped, and then took a deep breath. “Sorry. I’m just…tired.”

“We all are,” Oliver said. “So it’s not a good time to talk about this. We don’t need to wallow. We need to put our heads together when we’re fresh and come up with a new game plan. We need a new approach, something new in our arsenal that can level that field and give us back the element of surprise.”

“That’s true,” Dig said. “They expect us to show up. I think they are halfway disappointed if we don’t give them a fight.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Oliver said, shaking his head. “We take out too many of them, and we have shut down a couple of the cells.”

“Yeah, but the ones still standing just take in the leftovers and get stronger. At some point we are going to be down to one or two heavy hitters, and then what?” Dig asked, wrapping up his uneaten sandwich.

“We tackle that tomorrow,” Oliver said firmly. “For now, we go home, get some sleep, and regroup tomorrow.”

Felicity and Dig both nodded and turned to gather their belongings. All of the BBB wound up in the trash.

When Oliver and Felicity got home she immediately went to check on William while Oliver got the daily update from Raissa and bid her a good night with a kiss on the cheek. Words could not express his gratitude for all her help. Without her, he couldn’t be father, mayor and Arrow. 

“He was half asleep,” Felicity said, kicking off her shoes and scooping then up in her hand. “He aced his biology test. I promised ice cream and a hike this weekend.” She sighed as she walked up to Oliver and wound her arms around his waist and put her head on his chest. “I hope we can do that. Damn all these thugs.”

He enveloped her in his arms and dropped a kiss on her bent head. He nuzzled into her sweet-smelling hair and felt a stirring in his groin. He willed it away. She was tired and he certainly wasn’t at his best. They needed sleep more.

But his Felicity was nothing if perceptive, and she lifted her head to grin at him. “I feel that you not as tired as you seem.” She reached up and stroked his face, looking deeply into his eyes.

His kissed her lips softly. “It’s okay. We’re both tired.”

She shook her head, tossed her shoes on the floor and fisted her hands into his t-shirt. “Uh uh, husband. You do not get out of it that easily. You might have had a shower, but I haven’t, and I need someone to wash my back.”

A smiled slowly suffused his face. They had never taken a shower together that hadn’t wound up with them having sex. Sex in the shower, on the bathroom counter, the bathroom floor. Once in a while they actually made it to the bed, but that was usually for round two. 

“Well, if you insist,” he breathed, dipping down to capture her lips.

“Oh, I do,” she murmured as she kissed him back. “And I expect you to bring your A game, husband.”

“Yes ma’am.” He swung her up into his arms and she squeaked in that adorable Felicity way. Suddenly he wasn’t tired anymore, and he had a luscious blonde to scrub.


End file.
